Call It A Night

Pedro Ximénez, the sweetest sherry type, is a heavy-hitter in cocktails; its sun-drenched raisin flavor tends to dominate less-assertive ingredients. Katie Rose at Milwaukee’s Goodkind uses it with a deft skill in Call It A Night, perfectly balancing the sweetness against oaky bourbon, sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica, if you’ve got it), and a hint of herbaceousness from little drabs of amaro and absinthe.
Rye in place of bourbon is fine if that’s what you’ve got, but keep in mind that it will be a little less sweet, and the peppery flavors of rye will bring out the herbal flavors a bit more. The sweet sherry should really only be Pedro Ximénez; even cream sherry isn’t sweet or full-bodied enough to hack it here. As for the amaro, Rose uses Averna, a standard-issue, middle-of-the-road amaro – any amaro you’ve got will work as long as it isn’t marked by any particularly strong flavors.

Ingredients
- 2 parts Bourbon or Rye whiskey or Blended whiskey
- ¾ part Sweet vermouth
- ½ part Sweet sherry
- 1 tsp Amaro
- 1 tsp Absinthe or Anise liqueur
Instructions
Place the absinthe in a chilled cocktail glass and swirl it around to coat (”rinse”) the interior of the glass. Discard the excess. Stir remaining ingredients with ice until chilled, and strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with an orange twist.


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- Call It A Night at Imbibe
